Knowing how to use your powers of persuasion to get what you want out of life is one of the most important skills you can develop. Being able to persuade is an indispensable asset for personal and professional success. While some people find it easy to do, not everyone does.

Fortunately, persuasion skills can be learned like any other. However, mastering the art of persuading and influencing doesn’t have to be just a pursuit. When you develop this skill, you can work to make your voice and the voices of others heard.

The power of persuasion: a daily asset

Whether it’s advertising, political speeches or even simple interpersonal exchanges, we’re constantly bombarded by thousands of persuasive messages. Leaders, relatives and professionals use their persuasive power to convince us to think, do or feel something. We also know or meet people who can get anyone to do what they want almost immediately. On the other hand, most of the time we have to convince someone of something, change their mind or influence their point of view. So the power of persuasion is often used in :

SALES AND MARKETING: the most successful sales and marketing representatives are those who can persuade their customers to buy.
MANAGEMENT: Business leaders, managers and executives need to persuade employees to trust them. They also often have to use persuasion techniques at board meetings, and in meetings with customers and partners, to defend their ideas within the company.
JOB INTERVIEWS: persuasion skills are essential for job applicants or those seeking promotion. These people need to be able to use their persuasive power after good preparation to explain to their superiors why they are perfect for the job or promotion.
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: We use persuasion in our personal relationships to get what we want from our spouse, children or loved ones. For example, you can persuade your children to try out for sports teams or plays.

Power of persuasion: the secret weapon of influencers

The ability to persuade is a very good quality. It enables you to get what you want from anyone and achieve your goals. If you develop your powers of persuasion, you become powerful and influential. All successful leaders are experts in persuasion. They put a lot of thought into how they can get other people to help them achieve their goals. It’s all about planning and strategizing before action. They clearly define their objectives, then choose the people they’ll need. Then they think about what they’ll need to do in return for their help. So the work of persuasion and influence is done indirectly.

With the power of persuasion, you can achieve great things. This can make the difference between success and failure. Indeed, most people are unaware that every human interaction involves a complex process of persuasion and influence. And because they don’t know, they think they’re doing what they’re doing on their own, when in reality it’s other people who are urging them on.

For example, we give more credence to what experts, journalists and popular people say. Being aware of this, brands, for example, don’t hesitate to use them to encourage us to buy and consume their products.

The power of persuasion: the different ways of influencing and persuading

There are many techniques for persuading a person or a target audience. Some appeal to reason, using argumentation, logic, proof… Others play on emotion, using advertising, faith, propaganda, manipulation, lies…

For example, some people try to convince by talking and repeating over and over again. They believe that by constantly reiterating their point of view, they can succeed in getting their interlocutor to submit. And this sometimes works, of course, because others give in only to gain peace.

Others use the power of their position to persuade. They order others to do what they want. Once again, the others comply because they are forced to. But since their hearts aren’t in it, there’s a good chance they’ll give up or get frustrated.

Persuading is not a bad thing in itself. But it’s the purpose and the way of going about it that’s the problem. Persuasion therefore needs to be ideally tied to reason, ethics and morality, to prevent it from straying into dangerous territory. You mustn’t use your power of persuasion to do harm or lead others to do things against their will. Knowing how to use your power of persuasion means, above all, triggering “free and genuine consent on the part of the ‘persuaded’”.

What are the key skills for effective persuasion?

Being able to persuade enables you to present your ideas to others in such a way as to convince them to adhere to them. To get a person or an audience to do or believe something, you first need to develop persuasive skills.

HAVE good self-esteem and emotional intelligence in general.
BEING able to analyze the person you’re talking to and present the idea in such a way as to show them how your proposal is right for them.
BEING persuasive means being able to present a logical, well-researched argument that uses facts and data to justify your ideas or position.
BE able and willing to listen to the speaker (through active listening, for example) or audience and respond appropriately to the question “how does your idea contribute to satisfying their needs or concerns”?
BE able to keep calm and discuss without feeling obliged to argue negatively or resort to personal attacks.
BE able to clearly express one’s point of view or idea in a speech and/or in writing.
BE able to value the other person and boost your own ego. This is one of the well-kept secrets of persuasion experts.

In short, to develop your powers of persuasion, you need to work on your empathy, active listening and interpersonal skills, as well as your communication skills.

The bottom line!

The power of persuasion is an art that can be learned. Thanks to it, we can turn a no into a yes and get what we want. Learning to convince and persuade others must be motivated by positive reasons (success, achieving a goal, defending a reform…). Under no circumstances should you use persuasion to harm, manipulate or intimidate… Seeking to persuade is a strong and responsible approach that engages and involves. Trying to persuade is natural and legitimate, but not in any way or at any price.